Sheldon Peck was an itinerant, self-taught painter. Although he did not sign his work, his paintings are distinctive and fairly easily recognized. Subjects often have piercing eyes and serious expressions.Sheldon Peck (American painter, 1797-1868) Mrs Murry 1820-25In 1828, he moved to a farm in Jordan, Onandaga County, New York, and began to paint with brighter colors. He continued to paint half & three-quarter length portraits on wood panels and often added highly detailed settings and an occasional landscape in the background. In 1836, Sheldon moved to Chicago. It was here that Sheldon tried to find success as a portraitist, but the economy was working against his success in Chicago. Sheldon Peck (American painter, 1797-1868) Elizabeth Ann Ferris Preston c 1825The economic panic of 1837 left few clients for Peck. It was then that the Peck family sold their Chicago property for a wagon & a team of oxen and they moved 20 miles west of Chicago to a town called Babcock's Grove, the former name of Lombard . The family pre-empted approximately 80 acres of land, eventually gaining a land grant signed by President John Tyler in 1843, having purchased it for $1.25 an acre. Here Peck became a farmer and community leader opening a school for his own & other children. Peck was an abolitionist; and there is some evidence, that his house was a stop on the underground railroad. At the end of the farming season, he traveled painting portraits, and used canvas instead of wood panels. He also made many of his own frames.Sheldon Peck (American painter, 1797-1868) Art historians tell us, that Peck had three distinct artistic periods: The Vermont period (1820-1827), The New York period (1828-1836) and the Illinois period (after 1836). While in Illinois, Peck found success as a farmer, a community education leader and portraitist.Sheldon Peck (American painter, 1797-1868)An 1840 census listed Sheldon Peck's occupation as farmer. The 1850 census recorded his occupation as a portrait painter, as he was working on portraits for a family named Tharp in Pekin, Illinois. Harriet Peck, his wife, was known to produce cheese for the local market. By 1853, the family had grown to 10 children. Peck lived on the family farm, until he died of pneumonia on March 19, 1868.Sheldon Peck (American painter, 1797-1868) Mrs Dodge

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On March 4, 2011, Emile de Bruijn of the National Trust in the UK, wrote on his blog "Treasure Hunt" of making history & art available to all: "Traditionally art history has been inherently elitist & exclusive, both socially & intellectually. Art tended to be commissioned by the upper classes. Connoisseurship was seen as a superior, refined skill & the products of art-historical scholarship were guarded almost as fiercely as the art itself."

On May 29, 1012, William Noel, now Director of Special Collections Center & Director of Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies. University of Pennsylvania, told The TED Blog, "...digital data is not a threat to real data, it’s just an advertisement that only increases the aura of the original, so there just doesn’t seem to be any point in putting restrictions on the data. There is the further fact that the data is funded by taxpayers’ money. So it didn’t seem fair to limit what taxpayers could do with the data that they paid for."

On February 7, 2017, Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced a new policy: all images of public-domain artworks in the Museum's collection are now available for free & unrestricted use. "We have been working toward the goal of sharing our images with the public for a number of years. Our comprehensive & diverse museum collection spans 5,000 years of world culture & our core mission is to be open & accessible for all who wish to study & enjoy the works of art in our care. Increasing access to the Museum’s collection & scholarship serves the interests & needs of our 21C audiences by offering new resources for creativity, knowledge, & ideas."